By Precious D. Freeman
Former Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweah has petitioned the Supreme Court for a Writ of Prohibition against Criminal Court “C” Judge, Roosevelt Z. Willie, seeking to prevent him from presiding over the trial.
The writ prayed for on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, by Tweah’s legal representatives, petitioned that the Criminal Court “C” lacks jurisdiction over the matter at bar.
Defendant Tweah is urging the Supreme Court to prohibit Judge Willie from hearing the matter.
The petition follows Judge Willie’s recent decision to deny a motion filed by defendant Tweah’s lawyers seeking to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds.
The motion by the Cllr. Arthur Johnson was denied on February 28, 2025, and the judge ruled that the case should proceed.
In his ruling, Judge Willie stated that the court had the authority to hear the case based on existing legal provisions and the totality of circumstances.
According to Judge Willie, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) did not establish any proof or documentary evidence such as instruction or letter of request from the National Joint Security or the FIA or through a Joint Security Resolution or from the former President to Co-Defendant/Co-Movant Tweah, for which he (Co-Defendant) approved and subsequently ordered the transferred of the above mentioned amounts to the FIA’s account.
He further indicated that predicated upon these actions by the defendants, the LACC, through the Ministry of Justice is alleging that the defendants acted outside of the privilege provided to agents of the President in Article 61 of the 1986 Constitution and therefore, cannot enjoy this privilege for which they must answer and the only place to answer is the court-Criminal Court “C”.
The judge told the hearing that this case cannot be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, based on the facts, circumstances and the laws cited therein and therefore, prosecution must be given the opportunity to prove their case.
“Hence, the Motion to Dismiss is hereby denied and the case is ordered proceeded forthwith” Judge Willie ruled.
He noted that the LACC had not produced sufficient evidence to justify the dismissal charges on jurisdictional grounds.
“The prosecution must be given the opportunity to prove their case,” Judge Willie declared in his ruling. “Hence, the case is ordered to proceed forthwith.”
Defendant Tweah, along with former Acting Minister of Justice Nyanti Tuan, former Financial Intelligence Director General Stanley Ford, former Financial Intelligence Comptroller Moses Cooper and former National Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh, have been indicted by the LACC.
The charges include economic sabotage, theft, illegal disbursement and expenditure of public funds, criminal conspiracy, misuse of public money, and criminal facilitation.
The indictment alleged that the defendants conspired to transfer US$500,000 and L$1,055,152,540 from the Central Bank of Liberia through the operational account of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), in violation of the Financial Intelligence Agency Act of 2022.
Following the ruling, defense lawyer Cllr. Johnson insisted that Judge Willie overstepped his authority and that only the Supreme Court has the power to interpret constitutional matters.
“The judge today erred,” Johnson stated to journalists at the Temple of Justice. “By denying the petition to dismiss, the court has exposed national security operations, particularly expenditures made during elections to keep the country safe. This is beyond the scope of his authority.”
The prosecution, however, maintains that national security operations do not provide immunity from criminal prosecution.
Citing the National Security Reform and Intelligence Act of 2011, prosecutors argue that the NSC’s financial transactions must be subject to legislative oversight and auditing by the General Auditing Commission.
The defense, on the other hand, contends that the indictment violates executive immunity, as the defendants were acting as agents of the President in matters related to national security.
The Ministry of Justice praised Solicitor General Augustine Fayiah and his team of prosecutors for their work in securing the ruling to proceed with the trial.
While the Supreme Court deliberates on defendant Tweah’s request for a writ of prohibition, the case remains a key test of Liberia’s legal system and its efforts to combat corruption at the highest levels of government.
